Thomas rowbotham



(No Model.)

T. ROWBOTHAM. APPARATUS FOR SHAPING AND GUBLING HAT BRIMS.

Patented Aug. 8, 1882.

ATTORNEYS.

u, PEIERS. Phoi Lvthognlphen wa UNHED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS ROWBOTHAM, OF HAZEL GROVE, COUNTY OF CHESTER, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR SHAPING AND CURLING HAT-BRIMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 262,479, dated August8, 1882.

Application filed May 23, 1852. (No model.) Patented in England January1, 1881, No. 4. I

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, THOMAS RQWBOTHAM, ofHazel Grove, in the county of Chester, England, have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Shaping and CurlingHat-Brims, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates more particularly to the manufacture of felt hats,and has for its object to facilitate the shaping of the brims of suchhats. The said brims are bent or curved to impart the required set, andare also curled and turned up or over at the side edges, as is wellunderstood. I effect this shaping and curling by one operation. I employa press whichis fitted with side molding plates, blocks, or parts, whichadvance toward the hat-brims and act in conjunction with an expandingformer, which acts laterally upon the edges of the brim in conjuctionwith the said molding-plates, to impart the required curl, and also actsvertically in conjunction with the block which supports the hat toimpart the required set or curvature to the brim. I prefer to so formthe parts as that while the pressure upon the hat is sustained the knifemay be passed along or around. the hat-brim in such a manner as toremove the superfluous felt from the edge of the brim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of the completeapparatus. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken on the line was ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 3 y of Fig. 1.Fig. dis a sectional elevation of the molding-block. Fig. 5 is aplanView of the expanding former. Fig. 6 is a plan View of the presser-ringupon which the parts of the expanding former slide; and Fig. 7 is asectional elevation of the ends of the expanding former, taken on theline 2 z of Fig. 5.

In the said figures, a is the framing which carries the parts of theapparatus, and is adapted to be secured to a work-bench, as is usual. Onthe uprights of the framing are formed or fixed guides b, which areplaned to receive planed ribs, which are formed on a table, 0, wherebythe parallelism of the said table is maintained during its upward anddownward movements. On the face of the said table are formed V-shapedslides d d, upon which-the molding-block c is fitted to slide. The uppersurface of this molding-block is curved, hollowed out, and shaped tosuit the intended form which has to be imparted to the under surface ofthe hat-brim, as shown in Fig. 4.. Upon theinolding-block side plates,ff, are fitted to slide. These plates are curved to suit the form oftheblock, and slide between the face of the block and the under side of anoval ring, 9, which is secured to the block by means of screws 9, whichpass through slots in the platesf. The inner edges of the said platesare curved to the form which it is intended to impart to the out edge ofthe curl, and the meeting ends or edges of the plates are or may bebeveled and shaped to overlap. To the outer edges of the said plates arefixed pieces h h, upon which act inclines t i, which are secured to theuprights of the framing. When the table is raised the said inclines pushinward the plates f.

When the hat is placed in position upon the block a thin oval ring, it,(represented by Fig. 6,) is placed upon the brim, which ring is suitablyshaped to suit the curvature of the brim. Upon this plate are placed twocurved pieces, 1 l, which together act as an expanding former. Upon eachend of each piece lis formed an upward projection, l, upon which isformed an inclined face. The upper bar of the framing is prepared toreceive a screw, in, and upon the lower end of this screw is mountedafork, n, and the lower end of each member of this fork is formed withtwo inclined faces to act as a wedge. When the table is forced upwardthe two wedges or the fork enter between the inclines l on the parts ofthe expandingformer and force the said parts outward in oppositedirections. In the example the table is acted upon by means of two cams,0 0, which are fixed upon a shaft, 19, which can be rotated to therequired extent by means of a hand-lever, 1'. The hat to be operatedupon is placed upon the block when the table is in its lower p0 sition,and in order that the placing of the hat and the expandingformer may beconveniently efl'ected the molding-block is drawn forward upon the sidesd. To permit this movement of the block the fork n has to be moved intothe position indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1, and in the examplethis is effected by means of a spiral spring, 8.

The operation of the apparatus may be described as follows: The hat-bodyhaving been placed upon the block, the ringk is placed upon thehat-brim, and the parts 1 l of the expanding former are placed upon thesaid ring. The block is then pushed forward upon the slides, and thefork or. is brought round into the full position indicated by the fulllines in Fig. 1. The hand-lever is then drawn down or acted upon,whereby the cams 0 are caused to force upward the table. The pieces h h,by sliding upon the inclines i, are forced inward, whereby the platesf,by sliding inward, turn down the side edges of the brim over the upperedges of the expanding former, as indicated in Fig. 4. The same upwardmovement of the table and block brings the inclined faces on the ends ofthe parts Z l into forcible contact with the wedge-shaped ends of thefork 92, whereby the parts I l are forced outward in oppositedirections, thereby forcing the brim into the corners formed by theblock and the platesf, and at the same time the said parts l Zare forceddownward, whereby the brim is pressed between the block and the ring 70.Ad-

0 justable screw-stops t t determine the extent to which the plates fare forced inward, and the pressure upon the expanding former 'isregulated by turning the screw on so as to raise or lower the fork.While the hat-brim is under pressureaknife is passed around the curledbrim so as to remove the superfluous material, the curved edges of theplates f acting as guides for the knife. When the hat has beensufficiently pressed the hand-lever is acted upon to lower the table,when the spring moves the fork out of the way, and the block can bedrawn forward and the hat be removed.

It will be seen that the hat-brim is molded or set, curled, and trimmedduring the one operation with the apparatus.

The arrangements for forcing inward the platesfand for expanding theformer may be varied-as, for example, the inclinesi and the fork n or aframe carrying inclines and wedges might be forced downward instead ofthe table and blocks being forced upward.

The ring 70 might be dispensed with, its principal uses being toconstitute a presser which shall be continuous around the hat, and topresent a surface upon which the parts of the expanding former canslide.

The molding-block may be so arranged upon springs that when the hat isfixed upon it the block will sink to allow the formers to pass over theexpanding portion of the machine, which forms the curl on the hat so asnot to injure the felt. On pushing forward the sliding portion of themachine the block rises to its proper level.

Instead of making the formers in two parts, as shown and described, Imay make them in three, four, or more parts, if found necessary.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent- 1. In ahat shaping and curling machine, thecombination, with the bail or fork at, having tapering ends, of thecurved plates 1, provided with the vertical end projections, I, havinginclined faces, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In ahat shaping and curling machine, the hat-block mounted upon atable adapted to be forced upward, in combination with inclines h and11, plates ff, expanding former ll, and the forks n a, substantially asand for the purposes set forth.

3. In an apparatus for curling hat-brims, the rising table 0, forks n n,the hat-block placed upon the table-platesff, expanding former Z Z,inclines h and 'i, and the spring 8, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

4. In a hat shaping andcurling machine, the adjustable gage-stops t,combined with hatblock 6 and plate f, substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

The above specification of my improvement in machine for shaping andcurling hat-brims signed by me.

THOMAS ROWBOTHAM.

Witnesses: WM. HULING,

JOSEPH LYTLE, Clerks 250. 31083119. Ormerod d Allen, Solicitors,

Manchester.

